Tag Archives: fight

I keep thinking about that expression on Chemobabe’s recent blog post – ‎’I didn’t actually fight cancer. The truth is, I got treated.’ And I keep coming back to wondering why we use the term ‘fight’ for cancer. Because I agree with Chemobabe, I didn’t fight either. I smiled at my surgeons, I tried not to be cranky with the nurses when I asked for pain relief, I put my lippie on when I went to consultations, I tried to have a good attitude. But I know that none of that has any effect on the medical outcome.

In short, I just I did my best. I only ever felt that I was doing the best I could. Because why wouldn’t you just do that?

When someone else sees me undergoing breast cancer treatment, why do they call me brave? And why do some people want to label me as a fighter? I made my treatment decisions based on the evidence available to me – statistics and medical opinions. It wasn’t some kind of battle ground we were in, it was simply me and my doctors trying to give myself the best chance of staying alive. That’s not fighting, that’s just what we do everyday. Continue reading →

To buy ‘Being Sarah’ online, click on the image below:

Being Sarah – the book

Being Sarah is a true story about choice, control and breast cancer, It is a life-affirming, incredibly honest, opinionated, humorous and thought-provoking read.
It follows Sarah on her breast cancer odyssey, as she starts looking for a treatment plan that suits her, asking for choices, for second opinions, and questions. And there are so many questions: in a field where so little is certain, what's best for me? Why do we concentrate on cure rather than prevention? Is our terror about breast cancer sanitised and diluted by the 'pink' movement? And will I die? And there aren't always answers.
From the minutiae of getting through each day to the wider feelings of rage, hope, sadness, fear, loss, joy and helplessness, Being Sarah is about life, death, questions, options and choices.